Chu Li smiled, "Your Royal Highness's kindness is hard to refuse, I can only accept it."
"Father, why?" Leng Qiu asked curiously.
Leng Qing was deep in thought. She looked at the direction Menglan left and guessed it was a honey trap.
Chu Li was also deep in thought.
There was nothing wrong with Menglan. Prince An did not even speak to her in private. She was innocent and did not know that she was being used for a honey trap.
She was simply learning and training in the Verdant Cloud Brothel, waiting for the right age to dress and receive guests.
In another year, she would be able to receive guests. All these years, she had been studying and training intensely. She was both excited and nervous. She did not expect to be bought and brought to the Imperial Residence of Prince An.
She was a little scared but her training allowed her to maintain her composure. She did not panic and only followed Yang Xu. She listened to her orders and slowly familiarized herself with the place. It seemed that Master was not a difficult person to get along with.
Chu Li sighed. Prince An's trick was a honey trap. As for his motive, it was hard to guess.
Was it to make him fall in love with someone, using Menglan to control him and make him listen to her? Or was it to hurt Menglan to make him suffer? Both of these tricks were vicious.
There was even another motive, to drive a wedge between him and Siao Shi.
Chu Li smiled as he thought about this. He wanted to see what Prince An was planning.
The two women discussed for a while and continued to practice. Chu Li arrived at the Tianshu Courtyard.
Siao Shi was reading under the peach tree. When she saw him, she put down her book and scoffed, "She really is beautiful!"
Chu Li smiled, "Far from Lady Siao Shi."
Siao Shi glanced at him, "I think she is more beautiful! … Prince An really invested a lot. Which man could reject such a beauty! "
Chu Li smiled, "Prince An has ways to make me accept. Instead of that, I might as well just agree and save myself the trouble."
"… He is really despicable!" Siao Shi sneered.
She knew what Chu Li said made sense.
Prince An only needed to say that if Chu Li did not accept, he would sell Menglan again. Chu Li would have to agree obediently. In short, it was inevitable that he would be at a disadvantage if he competed with a vicious person like Prince An.
Chu Li said, "Let her stay here. I don't need any help over there."
"Are you really willing to do that?" Xiao Shi cast a sidelong glance at him and smiled faintly. "When such a beauty is right in front of your lips, how could you resist?"
Chu Li smiled.
Xiao Shi scoffed and said, "Alright then, leave him by my side. It just so happens that Yang Xu can't handle everything by herself anyway."
Chu Li said, "She's innocent, she doesn't know anything."
"Don't worry, I won't mistreat her!" Siao Shi sneered, "You're already feeling sorry for her!"
Chu Li could not help but laugh. He shook his head helplessly and got up to leave.
Xiao Shi said, "You should come and take a look at her every day. She's such a beauty, it's really pleasing to the eye!"
Without another word, Chu Li turned around and left.
As he walked along the small path towards the outside of the mansion, he occasionally met the guards and maids in the mansion. They all lowered their heads and bowed to him, but no longer called him the chief steward. Their gazes were filled with sympathy, obviously knowing that he had been dismissed again.
However, they did not dare to be negligent. Once something happened to the Prince's Mansion, they still needed the Head Chief. Even if he was removed now, he would definitely be restored in the future.
— —
A bright moon hung in the sky, its moonlight like water.
Chu Li wore a white robe and sat in his courtyard drinking. He drank by himself and looked at Ying Cheng and the others coldly.
He did not go to the Tianshu Courtyard. Siao Shi would definitely mock and ridicule him. Although her voice was gentle and he liked to listen to it, her words were full of thorns. It was better to avoid it if possible. He would go there after a few days.
"Knock knock!" A knocking sound was heard. It was exceptionally clear in the night sky.
"Come in." Chu Li said.
The courtyard door was pushed open. Liu Xing, Xiang Feixue and the others came in. They looked a little hesitant as they slowly approached.
Chu Li held a white jade cup and glanced at them, "What's wrong? What's with that expression?"
Liu Xing smiled bitterly and sighed, "Head Chief, we're here to bid farewell."
Chu Li was stunned, "Farewell?"
Liu Xing nodded slowly, "The four of us were sent out by the Royal Highness to deliver a letter."
"What letter?" Chu Li asked.
Liu Xing said, "It's a letter for Feng Huang Mountain."
"The four of you are going together?" Chu Li frowned.
Liu Xing nodded.
They were curious in the beginning. No matter how important a letter was, it would not require four Grandmasters to escort it. They guessed that the Royal Highness was using this as a pretext to make things difficult for the Head Chief.
"What about the Princess's Protectors?" Chu Li scoffed.
Liu Xing sighed, "The Royal Highness did not seem to have the intention to add more Protectors. There's only Zhu Tianhua and Yin Wuqiu. We're worried that if something happens …"
"Nonsense!" Chu Li said in a low voice.
Liu Xing said, "We're worried too. But the Royal Highness's order cannot be disobeyed. We can only come and inform the Head Chief that we have to depart tomorrow. We just received the Royal Highness's order."
Chu Li nodded, "Go and do your job well. Otherwise, the Royal Highness will have an excuse to punish you."
"Yes." Liu Xing and the others quickly replied.
They had this worry too.
They were originally recruited by the Royal Highness with a large sum of money to deal with the Head Chief. In the end, they respected the Head Chief's prowess and submitted to him. The Royal Highness must be unhappy and treat the four of them as traitors. If there's a chance, he will definitely cause trouble.
Previously, the Royal Highness crippled his martial arts and isolated himself to train hard. They lived a free and unfettered life. Now that the Royal Highness had come out of isolation and recovered his martial arts, their good days had come to an end. The Royal Highness would probably settle the score later.
Chu Li extended his hand and said, "Let me take a look at the letter."
Liu Xing took out the letter without hesitation and presented it with both hands.
Chu Li took it and did not open the envelope. He placed it under the moonlight and looked at it. He nodded, "There's a strange fragrance on it. Normal people can't smell it, but rare beasts can."
The four of them's expression turned ugly.
It was obvious that it was used for tracking. If they brought it along, they would be watched. If their whereabouts were known, it would be easy to set up an ambush.
Chu Li shook his head and said, "There should be a code in the letter. It's for the Feng Huang Mountain to take care of you. There are four of you, but once you enter the Feng Huang Mountain, it won't be easy to escape unscathed. With these two methods, I'm afraid you will lose your lives."
"Then what should we do?" The four of them looked even uglier.
Although their Light-body Technique was good, no matter how good it was, they would not be able to withstand such an ambush. It was probably because of their Light-body Technique that the Royal Highness used such a method.
The Feng Huang Mountain did not have one or two Grandmasters. Perhaps when they arrived, the Feng Huang Mountain would not only have Grandmasters from the Feng Huang Mountain, there would also be masters from other sects waiting for the four of them!
Chu Li said, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Are we going to disobey the order?"
"Then we'll chase you out of the Public House."
"Why don't we just throw the letter away?"
"If the letter is lost, you will be punished when you return."
"Then, Head Chief, what should we do?"
Chu Li smiled, "Pretend that you don't know anything and send the letter over."
"Ah?" The four of them were stunned.
Chu Li said, "I'll follow you secretly. I want to see who's going to ambush who!"
"… Thank you, Head Chief!" The four of them were overjoyed. They quickly closed fist saluted and thanked him.
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